


Beltin' Belden

by Brumeier



Category: The Three Investigators | Die drei ??? - Various Authors, The Trixie Belden Mysteries - Julie Campbell Tatham & Kathryn Kenny
Genre: Alternate Universe - 1940s, Alternate Universe - Baseball, Baseball, Dancing, Drinking, F/M, First Kiss, First Meetings, Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-17
Updated: 2020-07-17
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:33:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25324696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Brumeier/pseuds/Brumeier
Summary: Trixie is on the road with her baseball team, the Bluebirds. The night before the big game, she meets a handsome local guy. When he turns up at the game, it just may be the start of something special.
Relationships: Trixie Belden/Jupiter Jones | Justus Jonas
Comments: 6
Kudos: 6
Collections: What If? AU Challenge





	Beltin' Belden

**Author's Note:**

  * For [vanillafluffy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/vanillafluffy/gifts).



> Written for whatif_au: sports

**Rocky Beach, California, 1944**

Trixie stifled her giggles as she eased out the window, careful not to knock into Honey who’d climbed out before her. If Miss Trask, the team chaperone, caught them, there’d be hell to pay.

They made it to the fire escape, moving as quickly, but carefully, as possible. One false move, one loud metallic creak, and they’d be done for. The Bluebirds were supposed to be sound asleep in their assigned beds, well rested for the game the following day, but it was still early. And they wanted to have some fun.

There was a dance hall not far from the boarding house, close enough to walk to.

“This is perfectly perfect!” Trixie gushed. “Can you believe it? California!”

“Maybe a movie star will come to our game,” Honey said, eyes gleaming as they passed under a streetlamp. “Can you imagine? Ingrid Bergman or Cary Grant, cheering us on from the stands?”

“’The moon is also a goddess, chaste and virginal’,” Savannah quoted.

“Just like a proper young lady,” Amber replied, setting off a round of laughter.

All the girls in the ball club were supposed to be proper young ladies. During spring training they’d had to attend charm school classes. Trixie had hated them. She wasn’t elegant and graceful, like Honey, or full of Southern charm, like Marigold. Trixie was short and sturdy, the daughter of farmers not wealthy socialites. Every time she tried to be smooth and graceful, she usually fell on her face.

The dance hall wasn’t big, and there was a jukebox instead of a live band, but it was already swinging in there when Trixie and her friends arrived.

“I’ll get the drinks!” Savannah said, heading for the bar. 

They’d pooled their money for the night, everyone but Honey, who didn’t think it was appropriate to drink with strangers in dance halls, and Amber, who didn’t drink alcohol for religious reasons. Trixie wasn’t opposed to drinking a beer – or even two – under the proper circumstances.

Dancing was thirsty business.

“Let’s go!” Trixie dragged Honey out on the dance floor.

She had more enthusiasm than skill, but Trixie managed to hold her own. And didn’t knock into any of the locals or service men who were also dancing. Honey would only do partners with Trixie or one of the other girls because she was engaged – to Trixie’s brother Brian, who was overseas with the medical corps – and she said she wouldn’t feel right dancing with another man. She had plenty of offers, too.

After about ten minutes, Trixie needed a break. She left Honey with Savannah and Sharon, and dropped down in a chair next to Amber, grabbing a glass of beer that didn’t look like it had been drunk out of yet.

“Your hair’s coming undone,” Amber said with a grin.

Trixie just rolled her eyes. “You know I can’t do anything with it.”

Normally she kept her untidy curls short and manageable, but league rules said the girls had to have their hair long and ladylike. It was crazy, the things she was willing to do to play pro ball.

“Mind if I sit?”

Trixie looked up at the guy standing next to the table. He was cute, with dark hair hanging in his big brown eyes. Probably a local because he wasn’t in uniform. 

“Help yourself,” Amber said, waving her hand at the empty chairs.

The guy sat next to Trixie and held his hand out to her and Amber in turn. 

“Jupiter Jones. Nice to meet you.”

Amber made their introductions. “You live around here?”

“Just a mile or so up the road,” Jupiter replied. “You girls here for the game tomorrow?”

“That’s right,” Trixie confirmed. “We’re going to beat your Poppies.”

It wasn’t an idol boast. The Bluebirds were the top of the league at the moment. Well, almost the top. Rockford was hard to beat.

“Should be a competitive game,” Jupiter said democratically.

“It’ll be a shut-out,” Amber said.

A Lindy Hop came on the jukebox, eliciting a cheer from the crowd, and Savannah came over to grab Amber. 

“Would you like to dance?” Jupiter asked Trixie. “I should caution you that I’m not very good.”

Trixie shrugged. “That’ll make two of us, then.”

She wasn’t sure she’d ever had such a good time dancing. She tripped over her own feet, and sometimes Jupiter’s, but that didn’t stop them from twisting and spinning and trying to match the fancy footwork of some of the other couples.

Trixie’s friends whistled and hooted when Jupiter swung her over his back and she actually landed on her feet for once. It was exhilarating!

She was a little more hesitant when a slow song came on, but Jupiter seemed willing to give that a go as well, and if he could do it so could she. She put one hand on his shoulder, he put his high up on her waist, and they cautiously started to move. 

_Night and day, you are the one_   
_Only you beneath the moon and under the sun_   
_Whether near me or far_   
_It’s no matter, darling, where you are_   
_I think of you night and day, day and night_

“This is a lot easier,” Trixie said as she and Jupiter shuffled along together.

“May I ask you a question?”

“Fire away.”

“Do you enjoy it?” Jupiter asked. “The traveling, I mean. Never being in one place too long.”

Trixie nodded. “This is the best time I’ve ever had. I never dreamed I’d get to travel the country like this. How about you? What’s life like in Rocky Beach?”

_Night and day, under the hide of me_   
_There’s an, oh, such a hungry yearning_   
_Burning inside of me_

“I keep busy,” Jupiter replied. At some point during their swaying dance, his hand had moved to the small of Trixie’s back, pulling her just a little closer. “I take classes at the community college and help my aunt and uncle with their business.”

Neither of them mentioned the war, for which Trixie was grateful. She didn’t want to talk about her worry for her two older brothers, or accidentally offend Jupiter by asking if had served or not. She just enjoyed the dance. 

By the time Frank Sinatra finished singing, Trixie and Jupiter were dancing so closely that Miss Trask would’ve had an apoplexy if she’d seen. Trixie thought Jupiter was just about the nicest boy she’d ever met.

A jitterbug came on and Trixie grinned up at Jupiter. “Feeling brave?”

“Only if you are,” he replied.

After two hours of dancing and drinking cheap beer and flirting, Sharon rounded the Bluebirds up. They had to sneak back inside the boarding house before anyone noticed they were gone.

“I had a very enjoyable time,” Jupiter said, seeing Trixie to the door of the dance hall.

“Me, too.”

“Maybe I’ll see you tomorrow? At the game?”

It was charming, how nervous Jupiter seemed. On impulse, Trixie got up on her tiptoes and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

“I’ll be there for sure,” she said, and then let a giggling Honey drag her away.

*o*o*o*

_Stepping up to the plate, it’s Beltin’ Belden!_

Trixie took a few practice swings with the bat before stepping up to the bag and assuming her stance. The pitcher for the Poppies gave Trixie an assessing look, glanced over her shoulder to see how far off second base Savannah had gotten, and then she went into her wind up.

The pitch was a little low and outside, and Trixie let it go.

“Strike one!”

If the pitcher hadn’t done her homework, she’d try for the same pitch in the hope that Trixie would let that one past, too. The next pitch was just as low, and a little more inside, and Trixie swung for the fences.

There was nothing as satisfying as the crack of a ball meeting a bat, and Trixie didn’t look to see where the ball was headed before she flung the bat aside and ran full-out for first base.

_That ball is going…going…It’s gone! Another homer from the New York hitter, Trixie Belden!_

Trixie slowed her run, turning it into a victory lap, waving at the fans in the crowd. There were a surprising amount of people cheering for the Bluebirds, and she spotted Jupiter Jones among them. She put a little extra flounce in her step when she crossed home plate.

“Good job,” Coach Cal said when Trixie headed to the dugout.

She dodged his hand, which was headed toward her backside, and dropped down on the bench next to Amber.

“Way to go, girl!” Amber gave her a one-armed hug. “That was a heck of a hit!”

“Just another day at the ballpark,” Trixie replied with a grin. “That guy is here, the one from last night.”

Savannah leaned across Amber to look at Trixie. “Oooh, he was cute!”

Trixie shrugged, like she hadn’t noticed. “Doesn’t matter. We’re leaving tomorrow.”

They’d be back on the bus and headed to their next game. Some of the girls enjoyed having a guy in every port, so to speak, but Trixie wasn’t the love-‘em and leave-‘em type.

“Maybe he’ll write you,” Savannah said hopefully.

Before Trixie could reply to that, Sharon hit a line drive to right field, and everyone got on their feet to see if the outfielder would catch it. She didn’t, and Sharon was able to make it to second base.

Honey was the only one who knew that Trixie had trouble reading. She mixed up the letters, and swore they flipped around on her all on their own. Trixie would never ask anyone to write her letters, because she’d have to have someone else read them to her.

It was a good game. By the bottom of the ninth the score was tied, twelve to twelve, and Trixie’s teammates were looking a little worse for wear. Uniforms were dusty, and despite Miss Trask’s best efforts, their hair was coming undone. It was hot under the California sun, and Trixie was starting to flag.

There were two outs, Trixie was at first base, and Leah was up at bat. 

“Get a hit!” Trixie called out, clapping her hands.

“Never gonna happen,” the first baseman said. 

She tried to use her bigger size to crowd Trixie off the plate, but Trixie just planted her feet. She had three brothers. She knew how to hold her ground.

Leah had a strike and a foul before she made good contact with the ball, a line drive to left field. Trixie was on the run as soon as the ball hit the bat, barreling toward second. She didn’t know who had the ball, if anyone did, but Jenny, the third base coach, was waving her in, so in Trixie went.

The crowd was going wild, the Poppies were shouting directions at each other, and Trixie’s blood was rushing in her ears as she rounded second and headed for third. One run was all they needed to win.

A quick glance told Trixie that Leah was safe at first, and she was nearly safe at third.

“Go, go, go!” Jenny shouted. 

Trixie put on a burst of speed as she rounded third and headed home. Could she make it there before the ball?

“Dirt in the skirt!”

The cry came from her dugout, and Trixie went down, sliding into home just ahead of the ball.

“Safe!”

_Trixie Belden brings home a win for the Bluebirds, thirteen to twelve over the home team! Let’s hear it for those scrappy New York girls!_

Trixie lay in the dirt trying to catch her breath as caps started flying and the noise level swelled. The Bluebirds had won, and it was definitely worth the big bruise she knew she’d have after that slide. Another downside of having to wear a skirt to play in.

“You okay?” Sharon asked, standing over Trixie with her hand out.

Trixie let herself be pulled up, wincing at the pain in her leg. “I’ll live.”

She limped her way through congratulating the Poppies on a game well played, but when the rest of the team headed to the locker room, Trixie found Jupiter waiting for her.

“You’re bleeding,” he said.

Trixie looked down at her leg. “Oh. Yeah. It’s just a scrape.”

“You’re really skilled,” Jupiter said, and flushed. “At the game, I mean.”

He was adorably bashful, and as fond of big words as Trixie’s brother Mart. “Thanks.”

Jupiter held out a folded slip of paper. “I hoped you might consent to correspond with me.”

Honey appeared out of nowhere and snatched the paper from his hand. “She’d love to.”

Trixie gave her a narrow-eyed look, but Honey was too busy fluttering her eyelashes at Jupiter to notice. Had she forgotten that she’d have to help Trixie write all her letters? And read the ones Jupiter wrote back?

“Great! I mean, thank you!”

Jupiter was looking at Trixie while he expressed his enthusiasm, not Honey, so Trixie was willing to forgive her best friend.

“Let’s go, girls!” Miss Trask called from the hall outside the locker room.

Trixie gave Honey a not-so-subtle nudge, and Honey got the message. She pulled Miss Trask into the locker room, talking a mile a minute about the game. Trixie knew it wouldn’t buy her much time.

“Thanks for coming to the game,” she said.

“It was a pleasure to see you in action,” Jupiter replied. “I can see why they call you Beltin’ Belden.”

Trixie wasn’t a naturally conceited person – she didn’t think she was better than anyone – but she appreciated being appreciated.

She got on her tiptoes, intent on giving Jupiter a kiss on the cheek, as she had the night before, but he was already leaning down, maybe to do the same, and their lips met in the middle.

Trixie pulled back, blushing but unable to keep a grin off her face.

“It was nice meeting you, Jupiter Jones!” she called out as she ran to the locker room.

*o*o*o*

“That’s how Grandpa and I met,” Trixie said. “We wrote each other for a whole year.”

“And then what?” Helena asked. “You moved here and got married?”

“Well, first the war ended. When the boys came home, interest in the league went down and some of the women’s teams disbanded because wives went to be with their husbands.”

Some had gone home to grieve with their families, instead. Trixie remembered the telegrams, delivered by uncaring Western Union officials, telling a couple of girls on the team their husbands had died overseas. Trixie and Honey had lived in fear of those deliveries and what it might mean for Trixie’s brothers. They were lucky never to get one.

“I was offered a spot on a couple of teams,” Trixie continued. “And I went with the Poppies.”

All the grandkids knew Trixie used to play pro ball. There were pictures up around the house, and she’d been included in a documentary about women’s baseball. Two years ago, when the family had traveled back to New York for the annual Belden family reunion, Trixie and Jupe had taken the kids on a side trip to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown to see the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League exhibit there. 

“Is that when you and Grandpa started going on real dates?” Helena asked.

“Sure is. We already knew each other so well from the letters, though, so we didn’t go on too many before he asked me to marry him.”

Jupiter never asked Trixie to quit playing ball. And he was there at every home game, and the few away games he was able to come to. She couldn’t have asked for a better, more supportive husband.

Trixie played with the Poppies until 1952. Two years later she got a job coaching girls’ softball at UCLA. She had a husband and three wonderful children, seven grandchildren, a career she loved, and amazing memories of her time playing pro ball. She had no regrets.

“Okay, that’s done.” Trixie turned off the stove. “Tell Grandpa and Ray-Ray it’s time for dinner.”

Helena slid off her stool and headed in the direction of the living room, then changed course to come back and give Trixie a hug.

“You’re really cool, Grandma.”

“Extra dessert for you,” Trixie grinned. She kissed Helena on the top of her curly head and sent her on her way.

As Trixie transferred the food from pans to serving plates, she hummed the song that all the girls – not just the Bluebirds – had taken up as their anthem all those years ago.

_We’re the members of the All-American League_   
_We come from cities near and far_   
_We’ve got Canadians, Irish ones and Swedes_   
_We’re all for one, we’re one for all, we’re all American_

_Each girl stands, her head held proudly high_   
_Her motto ‘Do or Die’_   
_She’s not the one to use or need an alibi_

_Our chaperones are not too soft, they’re not too tough,_   
_Our managers are on the ball_   
_We’ve got a president who really knows his stuff_   
_We’re all for one, we’re one for all, we’re all American_

**Author's Note:**

>  **AN:** Obviously, this was inspired by _A League of Their Own_. When I was contemplating this month’s AU theme, this is honestly the first thing that popped into my head. Historically, all the women’s baseball teams were based in the Midwest, but I created the California Poppies and the New York Bluebirds just so Jupiter and Trixie would have better home state representation. ::grins::
> 
> “The moon is also a goddess, chaste and virginal.” This is a quote from the movie _Philadelphia Story_ , spoken by Cary Grant’s character. Quite possibly the greatest (and only) Cary Grant/Jimmy Stewart/Katherine Hepburn movie ever made.
> 
> The All-American Team theme song was not, as I had assumed, written for the movie. The real players in the 1940s wrote that song, which is still played at reunions of the All-American Girls Baseball League. So cool!
> 
> **Song List**
> 
> [Night and Day](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUs-QT6a2gA), Frank Sinatra
> 
> [All-American League Theme](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_SqGGLs0Yw)


End file.
